Well here we are. Terribly sorry for the late update. Life just seemed to get really busy so thanks so much for all the comments and your patience.
Hope you enjoy!
So it turns out that I had missed something major at the celebrations the other night.
Reika had called me later that night, pretty much in tears, informing me that her mother had found out about her playing soccer and forbid her from ever playing again.
I tried my best to comfort her and assure that everything would be alright, but honestly, I was now even more terrified that my dad was going to find out about it as well. Since Reika's father and my father were business partners, there was a chance that my father could hear about this and start wondering whether or not I'm involved.
'Don't be silly Yumi. Reika would never tell them you're involved, you're over thinking again.' Taking a deep breath I cleared my mind of those thoughts and allowed it to focus on other things, like the triplets and their behavior towards me but that only proved more puzzling after thinking about it over and over again.
'Maybe we should try not thinking at all.'
The next day was pretty much a blur because nothing really exciting happened apart from Reika disappearing from her room, only to be found where she usually practiced soccer and then encouraged by Kota, in his own way, to do what she wanted to do and not what her parents wanted. Other than that nothing really happened apart from a lot of practice for the district quarter final.
I was currently standing next to Hanashima after another day of practice when Erika asked what our next opponent, the Kobayashi soccer team, would be like.
Shou explained since Hanashima didn't really know, "They're what you call a fighting team." Well that doesn't help at all but luckily for me he clarified, "Football players need not only skill but etiquette and emotional strength. All of their players practice a martial art like judo or karate." Well that's not intense at all. "So all of their players are huge and possess a strong presence. They may be big but their speed is no joke." So they're both strong and fast. Great.
After that coach announced the lineup, it was mostly identical to the last one but he swapped Kota and Ryuuji, something Kota was extremely happy judging by the look on his face but Ozou seemed concerned.
'Wonder what that's about.' I didn't question it however, since it wasn't really any of my business. That very afternoon I was, for once, walking home alone after my piano lesson. I wonder where the Furuyas were. They've been walking me home more often than not so it felt pretty weird walking out of the building and not seeing them there, all wearing some form of a smirk.
'Honestly Yumi! You're not some lost puppy, you can walk yourself home, you've done it plenty of times.' I shook my head and nodded in determination. I couldn't believe myself, I'm not dependent on them, I'm perfectly fine walking by myself. They probably had something to do, so there's reason to get upset over nothing.
'Its not exactly nothing though.' I often found myself stuck with these thoughts lately. The kind where I pondered the reason as to why the triplets behaved the way they did with me. They weren't really like this with anyone else, so what made me special? I shook my head and tried to focus on getting home without thinking about the Furuya triplets or falling over my feet more than once.
But before I even made it home I spotted Aoto and his friend practicing, well it was more Aoto kicking the ball at the post and his friend watching. I decided to sit on the hill and watch since there was really no rush to get home.
'So he's imitating Diego Maradona from Argentina.' Aoto was good at it too but I had to wonder about his reasoning for doing so. I knew about how his dad left and how he was a SOCCER player. That was one of the reasons Aoto played soccer, not to find his dad but so that his dad could find him. Though Aoto was never this into shooting in all of his other pratcices.
'Must be because of Kota.'
Just then I noticed that Aoto's friend was beginning to make his way back up the stairs, he saw me and all we did was nod to each other before he went on his way. My attention went back to Aoto, who was now furiously kicking the ball at the crossbar.
I stood up making my way towards him, "You're really good at that." He stopped the ball and looked at me. I gave him a weak smile, "It's not often that someone can imitate so well." He said nothing and resumed kicking the ball.
"Are you having fun with the Momoyama Predators?" His question didn't really surprise me, so all I did was nod in response and he continued shooting. Even though we were on different sides, he'd still look out for me and I'd do the same in return. He walked me home afterward coming inside to briefly say hello to my mother before going home himself.
The next day was game day and almost immediately I knew that there was going to be a problem, the referee was the same one from the previous game and by the look on his face, he was not happy to see the Furuyas in particular.
The other team didn't look very friendly either. I knew Shou wasn't kidding when he said they were big but man were they huge, they could probably lift a small cow if they wanted to.
'Don't be ridiculous Yumi, more like lift a car.' At this point I was really happy that I had no athleticism what so ever because I really did not feel like being plowed over by these brutes.
The game began and just as I had predicted, the referee was going to be a problem. Apparently he didn't like the Furuya's attitudes to soccer and decided to be biased for Kobayashi. 'This is going to get annoying.' From the looks of it Hanashima was beginning to realize the problem too.
The game went on like this, resulting in no one getting a goal and both Kota and Ozou receive unfair yellow cards. Even when Shou called out some good shots we still didn't manage to make any ground because of the opponents defense. Everyone was getting a little frustrated, with good reason of course. I was more than ready to march up the ref and give a piece of my mind.
It was halftime now and Hanashima addressed the team, "I just want to say one thing. You guys are strong." I smiled at everyone's shock and continued for him, "Just play your own style of soccer. You'll definitely win." Those words seemed to help the team bounce back and they started gaining confidence.
Hanashima spoke to the Furuyas separately as well, no doubt telling them to play their own style as well and to stop worrying about the referee.
"This coach is really different." I heard Kota say as I walked up to them, "Isn't that why you chose him though?" They looked down at me and I tilted my head, waiting for a response. I received one in the form of Ozou patting my head. "Well, now that we have the coach's permission, let's just roll with it." Ryuuji said as he and Kota started wetting their hair.
'What are they doing?'
I received my answer when they finished and boy was I speechless. They adopted Ozou's hairstyle and now looked the most identical I've ever seen them. Everyone else was just as surprised as I was.
The second half began and things were in our favor, the opponent was having trouble differentiating between the triplets causing them to get confused, mark the wrong one and allowing Ryuuji to score a goal. The referee was also having it pretty rough, mistaking Ryuuji for either Ozou or Kota by giving him a red card but since he was confused it was only a yellow card.
In the end we won 0-3 and the demon triplets definitely seemed to be living up to their title. 'They really are Demon Triplets.' I smiled as the team cheered.
Instead of heading home, I decided to head to the soccer field by the river to watch the sunset. There was no piano lesson today so I decided to take the scenic route home instead. Sitting and watching the sunset was one of the calmest things in the world to me, well besides playing the piano. It always helped me clear my thoughts and be at peace for a bit.
"Are you lost, little mouse?" I gave a small shriek and looked up to see the triplets on top of the hill. "We were wondering where you ran off to." Ozou smirked as he lounged beside me, Ryuuji sitting on the other side after giving me a head pat and Kota maneuvered himself behind me so that I sat between his legs as he draped his arms over my shoulders. He was very casual about it while I on the other hand was having an internal battle to keep my face from turning red.
'And que blushing.' I obviously lost that battle but soon managed to calm down and relaxed a bit. It was kinda nice. We just sat there, not needing to fill the silence but instead just enjoying each others company. I sighed and started humming Say Anything.
"You've got quite a voice Mi-chan." I immediately stopped humming, embarrassed that I'd gotten lost in thought but nodded in thanks. It was strange how I felt comfortable to hum in the presence of someone, seeing as I would usually only either hum or sing when I knew I was alone. I didn't have stage fright, I just didn't like singing in front of people.
Nothing else was said after that and after the sun had set, they walked me home, we talked a little about the game but it was mostly quiet.
They promptly dropped me off and with a pat on the head, they went on their way home. Mom greeted me and we talked about how the game went and when dad was going to be home from his trip. It was decided that after what happened with Reika, that we would inform my father as soon as he got home and believe me, I was not looking forward to that conversation.
We still had time to figure out how to tell him but for now we caught up on how our days went. Mom even questioned me about how the triplets were doing and when I'd introduce them. In response to this I once again blushed furiously, excused my self as quickly as possible and tripped up the stairs to get my room where I promptly shut the door and sighed.
'There is no way in hell that's happening.'
Thanks for reading, please comment/review to let me know if you liked it and I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as possible. Again thank you so much for you patience. You guys are awesome!
